oimissus

John Lewis?

I was the same, Saffron, only team sports at my school and I hated the one I was told to do (you didn't get a choice!), track and field were just starting as I left, so I came out at 18 with no enthusiasm for sport or exercise at all. I think it's great if parents can display a healthy interest in sports - Mr Oi is the opposite to me as he started running with his dad aged 7 and ended up athletics captain at school and cross country captain at uni - he hated team sports too but loves his running and can't do without it. Fuschia - I've been thinking how you could address the diet and fattening foods thing. I think you can say that diet is a word we use to describe what we eat, so balanced diet, and then explain that some, but not all, foods can be fattening if we ate them everyday, like chips or chocolate, but having them every so often is fine, and other things like fruit and veg you can eat loads of - and that's what parents do, make sure the balance is right, so she doesn't have to. Go through what you're cooking and putting in her lunchbox with her. I do think that whilst body image and eating disorders is a concern, denial about excess weight is just as much as an issue, and what with childhood obesity being on the rise we need to keep an eye out - I get the point about Dawn French but there is no getting away from the fact that at one time she was morbidly obese which had to have a detrimental effect on her health and life. I don't agree with the point made about BMIs - only professional sportspeople probably have so much muscle mass as to render BMIs meaningless. I know that the ideal weight range for my height covers about 3 stone which takes into account different builds etc (and I know that I'm at the top end and shouldn't be - my build is tiny so there's no excuse!) The whole thing is a minefield for parents, but surely as long as we know what a healthy balanced diet is (and provide it!) and try our best to have a healthy, active lifestyle (and, as others have said, keep the talk about naughty foods and jeans not fitting out of earshot) that's the best we can do.

no tips (couldn't get mine to take a bottle grrr!) but just to say I don't think it's a problem, I know quite a few toddlers who have milk in a bottle but water in a cup. It's a comfort drink for them so might as well present it in something they're comfortable with! (FWIW mine has her warm milk in a bog standard sippy cup.)

aaahahahaha!

oh god, how gutting! Have you not got some cheese you can have with it? Is it a very yummy looking burger? Can I have it??

Saffron - yes, just Southwark. Maybe see if there's something similar in the libraries in Lewisham, or lobby the council to produce something similar! - I found it so handy, lists all sure start stuff, breastfeeding cafes, library baby groups, dad groups on Saturdays, childminder groups, parenting classes - it's a treasure trove!

I think you can use a sheepskin with a Bee - we didn't as Mr Oi is veggie and not happy with the idea. I think the baby can be flat using the footmuff, there's a lot of angles on the Bee so maybe one up from flat? It's a while ago, I honestly can't remember with Miss Oi.

sounds about right, mine grew out of it around this age and she's a small child. You can get the footmuff for this winter,and for some reason the straps seem to loosen up with the footmuff. I'm still using mine at age 2y 9mo, so it's a good buy (more so than the cocoon!).

espolea - if you get hold of the latest Let's Go brochure (libraries normally have it) you should be able to find groups that are targeted towards professional child carers (rather than parents) so your nanny should be able to meet other nannies and childminders in the area. I agree that is important for her. Also, check out ED Tots (sorry, not sure how to do a link) to see what else is going on in the area. I know I saw many childminders and nannies at classes and playgroups I used to go to, and some of those are free (All Saints playgroup for example).

I know powder is better for keeping your washing machine clean, bio for preference, apparently you should do a boil wash every week with bio powder to stop all that grim black gunk getting on the seal bit. jayd5 - how horrid for you at the hospital - do they really think that kind of thing needs to be said? Jeez. Hope your daughter is OK.

Mr Benn threw my 2 year old into a complete stew, not because it was scary (she doesn't like scary things like the sharks in Nemo, though is fine with Baloo and Shere Khan having a fight in the Jungle Book, go figure) but she was so overexcited by it she didn't go to sleep until 10pm that night. So it's been banned in our house for the mo. Also, there's no singing. I have the King and I, might try it out on her! And I got Happy Feet from a friend, no idea if there's singing, but another friend said it was very boring so I assume no 'mild peril' so fine by me! And cute little Elijah Wood doing the voice.

number of days - doesn't that depend on how many days a child is in nursery, and also, how much the parents want to keep their children off? A child who's at a private (ie non-term time only) nursery 4 days a week, and parents keep child off still totally well could result in that number of days off. Personally, unless Miss Oi has a temp or looks really unwell, I pack her off - having a cold isn't enough to keep her at home for me. But I'm mean (take after my mum - we would have to be virtually dead before we were allowed a day off school), and also freelance and don't get paid holiday or sick days.

keep her where she is, if she's settled and happy. Very few people I know have used or will use school nurseries because both parents work and the half days don't work for them, so that's the 'norm' for us. Miss Oi will be staying in her private nursery till she goes to school. I think you will find when she starts school that it's all irrelevant and they'll be a mixture of nursery 'backgrounds'.

The Wolsley is great! Not all that close of Oxford Street though. I have seen Emma Thompson in there twice!

without knowing what else was going on at the same time, it's hard to say. The teacher may have been involved sorting out something else more serious, had a look at your daughter's graze, made an informed decision that it was minor and asked her to go and wash it herself. That's not telling your daughter that she shouldn't or can't go to a teacher. After all, if teachers had to accompany every child who trips and grazes their knee, there wouldn't be any teachers left to supervise.

I went to Becky Byrne's NCT class in Nunhead, I would really recommend Becky, if she's still doing classes.

Miss Oi's poos have always swung between pretty solid and pretty splatty (sorry!), with no rhyme or reason to it as far as I could tell, without it seeming to affect her well-being so I've never bothered to do anything about it. She's veggie, but doesn't eat much fruit and no juice, and always white bread, rice and pasta. Might be the heat? Or nothing at all? If she's perky I wouldn't worry too much (though I have a very cavalier attitude to this kind of thing).

we had this problem last year and gave up on them. Looked a lovely nursery but that kind of thing is important.

Fmm - I don't really want to buy another travel cot, also we wouldn't be able to fit a mattress into our car.

2 yrs 8 m. She's not a tall child and the only friend I know with same aged child had such an awful time when he went from cot to bed that I'm hanging on in there with the cot (might as well get my money's worth!), though she has already chosen what bed she wants so I reckon she'll have swapped before too long. Do you use a pillow? She seems fine without one at the mo, and I know my niece 1 year older has never had one - do they need a pillow?

Coram Fields, I reckon.

she's in a sleeping bag, unless it's boiling. Not bothered about lack of pillow as she doesn't have one in her cot so don't suppose it would be a prob. Maybe she'll be fine in a normal bed, it's not very often we are away! Seems bizarre to think of her all tiny in a grown-up bed!

Miss Oi seemed pretty cheesed off with her travel cot this weekend (first time we've used it for ages) and she did look a bit squished. What do people use when they've outgrown their travel cot - I know you can get airbeds but I just can't quite imagine her staying put! She's still in a cot as well, and will be staying there for as long as I can get away with. Any ideas gratefully received!

Have you tried acupunture? No scientific evidence, but plenty of anecdotal evidence that it can help with conception. This obviously in the absence of any medical reason for lack of conception. It is very hard getting to the point of acceptance that your family will be smaller than you intended, but as midivydale said, it doesn't have to mean they will be lonely - children in larger families can be lonely, just as only children can not - it doesn't have to mean anything. Good luck!

second Tippee Toes music, drop in sessions, ?4 a go.